Court: School OK to demand removal of American flag shirts

2/27/14 3:37 PM EST

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a public school in California did not violate its students' First Amendment rights when the school asked them, on Cinco de Mayo, to remove shirts featuring the American flag.

In a unanimous opinion (posted here), a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's summary judgment that Live Oak High School in Morgan, Calif., acted properly when it intervened with the students, saying the school reasonably expected violence could erupt.

The case stems from May 5, 2010. In the wake of ongoing gang violence and fights between white and Mexican students, the administration asked a handful of students who wore American flag shirts to school on the holiday commemorating Mexican freedom to either remove their shirts, turn them inside out or go home with an excused absence after it was warned a confrontation might occur. The students alleged their free speech was violated and that they were unfairly singled out.

The court held that the school reasonably believed that the threat of violence or major disruption was real, and therefore did not violate the First Amendment rights of the students in question.

It also ruled that only targeting students wearing the American flag was appropriate, and that schools can single out specific symbols if there is evidence they might cause significant disruptions.

The decision further gave broad latitude to schools in crafting dress codes, saying it would be too much to ask schools to articulate every scenario in which a dress code might be violated.

"Dress codes are not, nor should they be, a school version of the Code of Federal Regulations," Judge M. Margaret McKeown wrote. Joining her on the opinion were Judges Sidney Thomas and Virginia Kendall. McKeown and Thomas are Clinton appointees on the 9th Circuit. Kendall is a George W. Bush-appointed district judge in Illinois, who was designated to hear the appeal.